VMware Workstation 5.0

The UUID and Moving Virtual Machines

When you power on a virtual machine that was moved or copied to a new location, the following message appears:

The virtual machine's configuration file has changed its location since its last poweron. Do you want to create a new unique identifier (UUID) for the virtual machine, or keep the old one?

You have four options: Create, Keep, Always Create, Always Keep. The proper selection depends on the cause for the changed UUID.

If you moved this virtual machine, you can choose to keep the UUID. Select Keep, then click OK to continue powering on the virtual machine.

If you copied this virtual machine to a new location, you should create a new UUID, since the copy of the virtual machine is using the same UUID as the original virtual machine. Select Create, then click OK to continue powering on the virtual machine.

If the original virtual machine is being used as a master copyfor more virtual machines, you can choose to create a new UUID the first time you power on each copy. After you configure the virtual machine and are ready to make it a master copy, move it to a new location and power it on. When the message appears after you power on, select Always Create, then click OK to continue powering on the virtual machine. The virtual machine is set up to create a new UUID every time it is moved. Power off the virtual machine and begin using it as a master copy by copying the virtual machine files to other locations.

If you intend to move the virtual machine numerous times and want to keep the same UUID each time the virtual machine moves, select Always Keep and click OK to continue powering on the virtual machine.

Note: If you want to change the Always Keep or Always Create setting, power off the virtual machine and edit its configuration file (.vmx). Delete the line that contains

uuid.action = "create"

or

uuid.action = "keep"

Suspending and resuming a virtual machine does not trigger the process that generates a UUID. Thus, the UUID in use at the time the virtual machine was suspended remains in use when the virtual machine is resumed, even if it has been copied or moved. However, the next time the virtual machine is rebooted, the message appears, so you can choose to create a new UUID or keep the existing one.